Keep Trying

Things go wrong again, but we keep trying. Biblical David failed, but he kept trying. Joseph was thrown into a pit, and he kept trying. Many have had challenges with their quitting lately, but they are determined to keep trying.

Today, consider writing down 3 reasons why you are going to quit. We need to focus more on these reasons. Today, consider writing down 3 disadvantages to slipping. Determine to think twice as much about these disadvantages as you think about the (very short term with destruction added) pleasures of lust.

Today, consider repeating often: I can quit. Consider praying:

“Father, give me the faith to believe that I can quit.”

The Bible says, “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”

People with strong values quit more often. For example, Jonny spends 10 minutes each day studying increasing in love and praying about it. But… he still falls every fourth day. But Jonny keeps trying to increase in love every day. He is obeying the Bible by valuing increasing in love. While he does need to work on quitting more… right now it’s not clicking, but he is moving into the group of people who quit more often.

Second, people who hang around with people who don’t have addictions quit more often. We can watch how they live, and what they do. I was a fairly decent softball player with a batting average of .500. Then I started hanging out with a former baseball player who had a great shot at being a pro baseball player. He told me how to change my swing. With my new swing, I batted .800.

Not only can people who don’t have addictions help you, they can inspire you. I find it very inspiring to hang out with people who aren’t dragged into the mud emotionally by their addiction all the time. They make me want to be like them.

Finally, keep trying to have expert notes at your fingertips regarding the best way for you to quit. Consider taking notes on articles, and highlighting notes for review every day. Get the information you need in front of you every day. It will pay off.

 

The challenge, when you have a severe addiction, is... you sometimes have no idea what is going on. You find a great article, you did everything it said... for a while, and 2 days, or 5 days later, down you go. What went wrong? Was the article no good? When this happens, pull the article back up, repent fully of your lust, and consider praying:

“Father, is this article a great one for me, or is there a better one.”

Then just start praying over the article and focus on it. Then at some point, you will start to realize: A, this was a great article, and it is great for you, you just have to execute on new days the same way you made it work for the days it worked. Or B, it is a good article, but it does not really solve your problem of _________ (fill in the blank, with something that often sinks you). Or C, it was a great article, and you also need to study a bunch of other things in order to quit.

The main point is... God tells us a thousand times to quit, and we act like He won't give us any guidance when we are straining to quit. And I know why we think that. In the past, I lived in my rebellious ways and I only rarely had prayers answered. But now that I am going to war with sin, I have more prayers answered, and I do get guidance.

Key point: When you are doing exactly what God wants you to do, ask Him for some guidance about which articles to study and pray over. We need that guidance because sometimes studying 17 articles hard is what is needed to quit. If that is the case... you need to figure out which 17 it is, fast.

Finally, consider reading old articles and praying over them. Ask God to show you which ones are key articles for you. Then “keep trying” to build the habits from those articles to build your foundation.

Don't give up on solid techniques for quitting based on bad results. Keep asking God what to work on no matter what. If you keep praying about it... someday you will have a great idea of how to quit.

For the full article click.

 

My dad was a preacher at a very small church. There was never much money but he kept trying. The church never really grew but he kept trying for decades. At his funeral, I was shocked by how many important people were so impressed with his life. Now, 8 years later, I am really impressed by what he did with his life. His faith and belief changed many lives, but it never would have happened if he had stopped trying.

Second, you will never know how you impact the world just by trying to do things Jesus way. My dad kept trying when he thought no one was watching. But “we” were watching, and because of him, I plan to “Keep trying” till the day I die.